Nola Veggie Fest & Surprise Cookie Dough Dip!

So I wanted to tell you guys about this past weekend. May 12 & 13 was NOLA Veggie Fest! Me, Jason, my sister Jenn, her boyfriend Chris, and our mom and step-dad all went on Saturday. It was heaven for us really. An entire building with booths full of veggie-related samples and treats and drinks! We each got a huge Peta bag as part of getting in and we filled them with pamphlets and coupons and samples. Not to mention each of us were walking around with both hands and arms filled with food we were tasting. So awesome! And everyone was so nice! One of the things that Jenn and I had on our must-do was to see Ellen Jaffe Jones speak (author of Eat Vegan on $4 a Day). And we did! We even met her and chatted for a bit before and after she spoke. She signed my book and it was just fabulous! She was great and even shared a photo of us with her and our blog on her Facebookpage a few days ago! While we were talking to her she said something that always resonates with me when I hear it- and is so important. We were talking about how far along vegetarianism and veganism has come over the years and she mentioned how we each get 3 votes a day when it comes to our food. It’s so true. 11 or so years ago when Jenn and I first gave up meat, it was difficult to find anything on any menu that we could eat without having to alter it. And now today-pick almost any restaurant and you can find at least 2 or more vegetarian options right off the bat! Now, being vegan, we usually have to ask them to leave off cheese or cook vegetables without the butter, etc. But it’s coming. Restaurants are definitely familiar with what vegan means now and cater to it without hesitation-usually. And that’s how it happens-supply and demand. Ask for it and don’t be afraid.

Here’s the photo we took with Ellen:

Anywho, I also wanted to share a recipe with you guys. For Mother’s Day-which was a very lovely day might I add, my mom made the famous delicious Engine 2 Sweet Potato Lasagna for the family and I brought a little cookie dough dessert dip. Both were a hit! I saw this while perusing Chocolate-Covered Katie’s vegan dessert blog-which is amazing, check her out here. You would never even guess what was in this dip by tasting it!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

3 T of a nut butter. If you use peanut butter, it’ll have a very-slight “pb cookie dough” taste. Almond butter gives it a more neutral dough taste.

up to 1/4 cup soy or almond milk (Start with 1 T, and add more as needed)

Sweetener (see note below, for amount)-I used agave nectar and just added some and tasted until I was happy with it. You won’t need too much.

1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used Whole Foods’ Vegan Chocolate Chips)

2 to 3 T flaxmeal

Graham Crackers for dipping (Unless you’re a bee-gan, find some without Honey hehe)

Add all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) to a good food processor (not blender), and blend until very smooth. Then mix in the chocolate chips.

Sweetener Notes from Choc. Covered Katie: Sweetener Notes: I used 2/3 cup brown sugar when I first made this for the party. Liquid sweeteners (agave, maple, etc.) are fine as well, as is evaporated cane juice. You can easily get away with less sugar– some people will be perfectly fine with just 3 T for the whole recipe! And if you don’t want any sugar, be sure to check out the “no-sugar” version linked above. (You can also use stevia, if you like the taste of stevia-sweetened desserts. Try 2-3 packets of NuNaturals stevia, and add more sweetener if needed. I wouldn’t recommend serving an all-stevia version to party guests, though.)

*Also-as a side note from me-I have seen recipes similar to this where instead of sugar or agave nectar, they used dates to sweeten it up a bit. I’ll try that next time I grab some dates at the grocery.

Let me know if you guys try this!

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